


honey in your hair

by connorswhisk



Category: I Am Not Okay with This (TV 2020)
Genre: F/F, brad sucks, but we been knew, first quarantine fic baby!!!, it's a coffee shop au!! fuck yeah, so uh. syd is fuckin gay lmao, stan gets a boyfriend, you know i had to do it to him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:00:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23302783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/connorswhisk/pseuds/connorswhisk
Summary: Sydney Novak, like most people, enjoys a cup of coffee to start her day. Something hot. Caffeinated. Preferably with lots of sugar.Those things are a luxury Sydney’s family can’t afford, apparently. Can they ever?or,the coffee shop au that no one asked for ft. syd being really fucking gay for dina
Relationships: Dina/Bradley Lewis, Dina/Sydney Novak, Stanley Barber/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 141





	honey in your hair

**Author's Note:**

> dina is a theysbian and you can pry this headcanon from my cold dead hands
> 
> title taken from honey by magic man

Sydney Novak, like most people, enjoys a cup of coffee to start her day. Something hot. Caffeinated. Preferably with lots of sugar.

Those things are a luxury Sydney’s family can’t afford, apparently. Can they ever?

“ _Shit!_ ” Syd yells, slamming the coffee maker onto the countertop after it fails to boil her water for the third time. Goob looks up for the briefest second from where he’s doing his homework. Then he looks down again.

“Sydney!” Mom calls from her room. “Watch your mouth!”

Syd sets herself to mopping up the spilled lukewarm water, grumbling as she does so. Mom walks in, pulling her hair up into her stupid perky ponytail, trying to find her keys.

“What’s all the racket about?” she asks, disapproval obvious in her tone. Goob says something about the bus being outside, and leaves, even though Syd can’t hear a bus.

Syd glares at her. “The stupid coffee maker doesn’t work. We have no clean mugs. There’s _no_ milk and _no_ sugar, and I really don’t want to start my day without any fucking coffee!”

“ _Sydney Novak,_ ” Mom says warningly. “Just because things aren’t going your way doesn’t mean you have to let the whole neighborhood hear about it.”

_Look who’s talking,_ Syd stops herself from biting back.

“Ok, but Mom, this is a _daily occurrence!_ I haven’t had a decent cup of coffee in this house since - I don’t know, since _2012_ it feels like!”

Mom arches a single eyebrow. Syd hates it when she does that. “You wanna know why that’s so? There’s no milk because your brother used the last of it for his cereal this morning, and that can’t be helped. There are no clean mugs because _you_ decided to overshoot curfew last night by half an hour, and it was your turn to wash the dishes yesterday. And as for the coffee maker and the sugar?” She sighs. Crosses her arms. “Really, Sydney, do you think I’m made of money?”

_If looks could kill,_ Syd thinks to herself.

“Fine,” she snaps, grabbing her bag from off the coffee table. “Fine, I’ll just go to school without coffee then. Don’t come crying to me when my grades go to shit ‘cause I’m falling asleep in class.”

“Sydney,” Mom says exasperatedly just as Syd puts her hand on the doorknob. “Doesn’t your friend work the morning shift at the Grindhouse Bean?”

Syd clenches her jaw. “ _Yes._ ”

Mom sighs. Again. “Why are you making such a fuss if you could just go there?”

Syd pushes the door open and leaves without saying anything.

“ _Fuck,_ ” she mutters to herself, adjusting the straps of her bag on her shoulders. Because Mom is completely right, of course.

Stan works at the local coffee shop. He has for two months now. Syd knows this. Stan knows that Syd knows this. _Mom_ knows that Syd knows this. Syd likes Stan. The whole reason she was late coming home last night was because she and Stan had been lying on the floor of his basement, listening to his stupid old records and passing a joint between the two of them. Syd has absolutely nothing against Stanley Barber. He’s pretty much her only friend.

So why doesn’t she like visiting his work?

The real issue is that she likes visiting it a little too _much._

Syd walks into the Grindhouse Bean, allowing herself to become immediately enveloped in the glorious, glorious smell of coffee and baked goods. There’s a fair amount of people waiting in line. It’s pretty early in the morning. It’s still a good forty-five minutes before the bell for first period rings and most people clock in to their nine-to-fives. It’s a cozy little café. Comfy. Homely. Lots of plush couches and armchairs that probably came from the nineteen-twenties.

Stan does the baking (“I guess all those times making pot brownies paid off.”). Henry Vasquez the high school junior dropout is behind the counter basically all day, glaring at everyone and not taking anyone’s shit. There’s a couple of community college kids who take over during the midday shift. And then there’s -

“Syd!”

Precisely the reason Syd didn’t want to come.

Dina is. Well, Dina is - they’re _flawless._ Like, Syd genuinely can’t find a single thing wrong about them. Their hair is nice. Their skin is totally clear. Their eyes are pretty. They moved here last summer, and they fit into town great, and the way Syd _feels_ when she sees them -

Ugh. Syd _hates_ having _feelings._

But she walks up to the counter anyway.

“Hey,” she says. She feels like her mouth is full of cotton.

Dina smiles. “Hey. What’s up?”

“Well, you know, not much. You know. Well - you know.”

_Jesus, Novak._

“Sure,” Dina says, squirting chocolate sauce onto someone’s mocha. “Hey, if you’re looking for Stan, he’s in the back trying out some new lemon square thing? I’m not really sure, but it sounds promising.”

“Ha, yeah. Sometimes it’s hard to tell with Stan.”

Dina laughs. “Yeah, I know.”

And then they’re both just sort of. Standing there.

“Oh!” Dina says suddenly. “Did you want a coffee or something?”

“Uhh...”

_Come_ on _Syd, it’s a goddamn coffee shop, why else would you come here?_

“Yes!” she says, a little too loud. A woman in track pants who’s second in line glares at her. “I mean, yeah. A coffee would be great.”

Dina smiles. “Cool. Just your usual? Caramel, whipped cream, condensed milk, the works?”

“Yeah, that’d be great.”

“Coming right up,” they say.

“Oh, you don’t have to - “ Syd says. “I mean - I’ll go get in line.”

“Shut up, Syd, it’s fine,” Dina replies. “Friends get privileges.”

Henry snorts. “Bullshit.”

“Well, it would be to you,” Dina responds cheerfully. “You don’t have any friends.”

Track pants woman has reached the front of the line. She clears her throat impatiently.

“Yeah, alright, loosen your ponytail a bit, I’m coming,” Henry snaps. It’s truly a wonder he’s managed to hold this job for so long. But maybe being the nephew of the owner has its perks.

Syd takes a seat at the counter, and pretends to peer down into the food display case, even though she’s really watching Dina while they work. It’s calming, almost _peaceful_ to watch Dina do their job, carefully yet effortlessly adding just the right amount of everything to Syd’s coffee, smiling softly while they do, quietly humming some song Syd doesn’t recognize under their breath.

  
Naturally, this is when Stan decides to make his appearance.

“ _Syd!_ ” he yells loudly. Way too loudly for 7:30 in the morning. He’s carrying trays of bright yellow rectangles, steam rising off of them in little curls. He slides them into the display case, ducks under Henry’s arm, and launches himself over the counter into the seat to Syd’s left. Some people in line look disgruntled, but most (the regulars) hardly notice. When you spend a lot of time around Stanley Barber, you get used to him, quick.

“Hey, man,” Syd says.

“I haven’t seen you in _ages_ ,” Stan says dramatically, throwing his arms around Syd’s neck and pulling her into a hug.

“Here, Syd, your coffee’s ready,” Dina says, sliding Syd’s mug down the counter.

“ _Mmphf,_ ” Syd says, ‘cause her face is being forcibly buried into Stan’s chest. She manages to break free and bat his hands away. “Thanks, Dina.”

“No problem.”

Syd allows herself a few moments to smile dumbly at Dina’s retreating form before turning back to Stan.

“What the fuck are you talking about, you ‘haven’t seen me in ages,’ I was literally at your house _last night._ ”

“Yeah,” Stan says, shrugging. “But you haven’t visited us _here_ in at least a week. What gives?”

“Oh,” Syd says. Swallows. “You know, just. Just family stuff. My mom’s been crawling up my ass again.”

Stan smirks. “Is it your mom or is it Din - “

“ _Shut up!_ ” Syd hisses, checking to make sure they haven’t overheard. “I don’t know, man, it’s a lot of things, ok?”

Stan laughs. “Whatever you say, dude.” He takes the proper way back around to the other side of the counter and reaches into the display case.

“Lemon square?”

Syd smiles. “Fuck yeah, dude,” she says, and finishes it in two bites. She takes a sip of her coffee, and it’s _worth_ the shitty morning and the awkwardness with Dina to drink this heaven in a cup. Syd doesn’t know _what_ it is, but Dina is insanely good at mixing drinks.One time when Dina was sick, Henry made Syd her coffee, but it just wasn’t the same. Plus, Dina doesn’t glare at Syd the whole time they’re making her drink.

“Hey, you wanna go to the diner tonight?” Stan asks, leaning back against the wall. “You, me, a shared basket of tater tots culminating in a smoke in my car?”

“Yeah, sounds good,” Syd says. “As long as the smoking stays strictly in the parking lot. Or, even better, around the corner. I really don’t need my mom seeing us.”

“Maybe we could invite Dina?” Stan asks. Syd is suddenly very interested in her napkin. She can _hear_ Stan roll his eyes. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“I _know,_ ” Syd groans. “That’s why it bothers me.”

“Shut up,” Stan advises. “I’ll ask them.”

“Ask me what?” Dina walks up next to Stan, adding whipped cream to someone’s order. “I assume you’re talking about me, at least.”

“Yeah,” Stan says. “We were wondering if - “

“Dina,” Henry drawls in a sing-songy voice. “Your boyfriend’s here.”

_Oh, great._

Bradley Lewis is everything Syd isn’t. Tall. Good-looking. Popular. Funny. Charming. His dad’s the mayor of the town. His mom’s PTA president. He’s the star of the football team. And of course, he’s dating Dina.

By all means, Brad should be a wonderful person!

He is _not._

“Hey, babe,” he says, sidling his way up to the front of the counter, a stupid grin on his face. “Almost ready to go?”

Dina leans across and kisses him on the cheek. Syd looks down at her shoes. “Sure thing, just let me finish up this last order.”

Brad sits to the right of Syd. Syd leans away instinctively.

“Hey, Novak,” Brad says. “Barber.”

“Hey, Brad,” Stan returns. Syd doesn’t say anything.

“Aw, hey, babe?” Brad calls to the other side of the counter. “Can I get an Americano over here?”

Syd grits her teeth.

“Uh, yeah, is it ok if Henry makes it?” Dina replies. “I’m almost done.”

“Sure thing!” Brad shoots back, flashing Dina his stupidly white smile. As soon as their back is turned, the smile slips off his face, and he directs a withering glare at Henry.

“Stop fucking scowling,” Henry seethes. “I don’t like you any more than you like me, Lewis.” He slams an Americano down in front of Brad. A fair bit of it sloshes over the sides of the mug.

“ _Oops._ ” Brad shoots the finger at his back.

“Hey, uh, Henry?” Stan says suddenly. Henry turns to him sharply, a single black curl hanging in his eyes. He shakes it off somewhat violently.

“What.”

“...Did you like the lemon squares?”

Henry looks taken aback, like he wasn’t expecting to be asked. “Did I...” He blinks. “Yeah. They were...they were really good.” And then he stalks off to lurk behind the coffee machine.

Syd gives Stan a Look. “Asking _Henry_ for baking feedback? Really?”

Stan grimaces helplessly. “I figured if anyone were to be brutally honest and critical, it would be him. I guess he liked them, though.”

Brad snorts. “Vasquez doesn’t like anything. Least of all some fucking baked goods.”

“I’m sorry,” Syd says. “Were you involved in this conversation at all?”

Before Brad can retort, Dina appears beside him. “Ok, I’m ready.”

“Cool,” Brad says, standing. Stan gestures with his head towards Dina. Syd shakes her head slowly and deliberately. Of course, he doesn’t listen.

“Hey, Dina! We were wondering if maybe you wanted to come to the diner with us for dinner tonight?” Stan asks. Brad raises an eyebrow. “Brad can come, too, if he wants,” Stan adds quickly.

Syd groans internally. _God dammit._

“That sounds like fun!” Dina says. “Brad, does that sound good?”

“Sure, sure, it’s whatever,” he says. “Come on, Dina, we’re gonna be late.”

“Ok,” Dina says. “See you tonight, then. Bye, Syd!”

“Bye!” Syd says back, taken a little by surprise that Dina had addressed her directly. Stan laughs.

Syd glares at him. “Shut it. Dude, I can’t believe you just invited _Brad_ out to dinner tonight.”

Stan shrugs helplessly. “What the hell was I _supposed_ to do? The guy was right there, it was weird.”

“Just ignore him?” Syd suggests. “He’s a total dickhead, Stan.”

“Yeah,” Stan sighs. “I know. I don’t know what Dina sees in him.”

Syd puts her head in her hands and groans.

“Whoops. Sorry, Syd.”

“Fucker didn’t even pay,” she hears Henry mutter as he picks up Brad’s empty mug.

“Henry,” Syd says suddenly. “Diner tonight?”

Henry raises an eyebrow. “You think I want to eat at a diner? With you people?”

Syd shrugs. “Since we’re apparently inviting everyone now.”

Henry huffs. “Yeah. Hard pass.” He pauses on his way into the kitchen. “But...I might stop by, anyway,” he says, with the smallest of glances at Stan, and then leaves.

“What the fuck was that?” Syd asks. “What is he, like, one of your customers or something?”

Stan looks a little out of it. “I have no idea,” he says slowly. “I don’t sell to him. I don’t even know if he smokes.”

“Have you seen the guy?” Syd says. “He _definitely_ smokes.”

School passes by pretty sluggishly. Maybe it’s ‘cause Syd hates school. Maybe she’s tired. Or maybe Stan slipped something into those lemon squares. It’s definitely not because Syd feels apprehensive-slash-excited about tonight. It’s really not.

In biology, Dina smiles and waves at Syd. Syd feels her heart leap into her throat and almost takes Stan’s eye out with her scalpel.

_God, this day needs to end._

“Ready?” Stan asks when the last bell finally, _finally_ rings.

“Yeah,” Syd says. “Are we getting Dina?”

Stan smirks. “You wish. No, they asked me to cover for them today so that they can get a ride with Brad to the diner after his practice is over.”

“Oh,” Syd says, trying not to let her disappointment show _too_ clearly. “Ok.”

Stan slings his arm around Syd’s shoulders. “Come on. I’ll give you a chocolate chip muffin, on the house.”

Syd grins. Stan does know the way to make her happy: feed her chocolate. _Damn him._

The Grindhouse Bean has a different energy in the afternoon than it does in the morning. There’s still a lot of people, but usually not as many people at once, and the place tends to be filled with more students coming for a caffeine fix once school lets out, rather than adults in business attire. The sun filters through the windows more clearly in the afternoons, and there’s more hipsters sitting around with their MacBook Airs and their flat whites.

Despite the sunny disposition of the coffee shop, Henry is sullen as ever behind the counter when Syd and Stan walk in, serving up coffee to people with his usual permanent scowl fixed to his face.

“Hey, Henry!” Stan says, disappearing into the back to grab his apron. Henry just sort of grunts noncommittally.

Syd slides into a stool, snags a chocolate chip muffin, and pulls out her math homework. Not that it makes much sense to her, but she’s got to start it at _some_ point. Stan is evidently busy with baking, because he doesn’t come back from out of the kitchen. After a while, Syd can smell something vaguely citrusy wafting from the back.

It’s hard to focus on her homework. She keeps looking up expectantly, waiting to see Dina behind the counter or walking through the door. No such luck. And even when she’s looking at her work, Syd’s thinking about Dina’s infectious smile, and their cute clothes, and the way they smell like cinnamon...

“Novak.” Syd shocks out of her reverie, jumping slightly at the sound of Henry’s voice.

“What?” she squeaks. “I wasn’t - I was just - I’m - I’m doing homework. This is - it’s my math homework.”

Henry raises an eyebrow.

Syd clears her throat. Straightens herself out. “Do you need something?”

Henry rolls his eyes, rests his head in his arms on top of the display case. The place has thinned out a little bit, and no one’s in line at the moment. Syd can hear Stan singing what sounds suspiciously like a Bloodwitch song from the kitchen.

“...Yeeeeeees?” Syd asks. Henry’s stare is starting to creep her out. Just a little bit.

Henry sighs, fidgeting and looking all around with the air of someone who is very nervous. It’s a weird look for him. Syd didn’t think Henry was physically _capable_ of being nervous.

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“Ok, shoot,” Syd tells him, but now her brain is going fifty miles a minute. She barely knows Henry, only vaguely remembers him from when he used to go to school with her, and only sees him when she’s here at the coffee shop. At the most, she’s probably exchanged six or seven words with him at a time. She doesn’t know anything about the guy. Hell, she doesn’t even know why he dropped out.

So what is he going to ask her? _Do you have any weed on you? Do you want to know which shady backalley you’d have to visit in order to buy coke? What’s a good place to hide a body?_

_Need any advice on what to do when your crush doesn’t like you back and is dating a total asswipe?_

Well, Jesus, if he asked Syd _that,_ all her problems might be solved right there.

“Is Stan single?”

Syd’s mouth falls open.

_What._

“What,” Syd says, eyes wide. Henry fidgets uncomfortably again.

“Stan. Is he dating anyone at the moment? Or is he single?”

Syd forces herself to close her mouth. “He’s...Why do you want to know?”

Henry gives her a look like, _Really?,_ and yeah, ok, _duh,_ but she had to make sure!

“Just answer the question, Novak.” Henry looks like he wishes he hadn’t asked her at this point.

“No,” Syd says. “I mean yes! Yes, he’s single, no, he’s not dating anyone right now.”

Henry exhales. “Ok,” he says. He leans back against the wall.

“What, that’s it?” Syd asks incredulously. “You’re not gonna ask me for tips on how to woo him or anything?”

Henry scowls at her. “Do I look like I want tips on that?”

“Good,” Syd says. “Because I probably wouldn’t even know what to tell you, anyway.”

Henry grimaces. “But...hypothetically... _if_ I wanted advice about that sort of thing...what would you say?”

Syd raises her eyebrows. “Do you ever hang out with him outside of work?”

“No.”

“Then start doing that.”

“What, so like,” Henry says slowly. “Ask him if he wants to hang out?”

“Well, yeah,” Syd says. “Eventually. You gotta break the ice first. Come to dinner tonight.”

“Diner’s aren’t really my thing.”

“Stan will be there,” Syd points out. “Plus, we’re hotboxing his car afterwards. You don’t have to stay the whole time, but show up for a bit? Please? I mean, if you want to.”

Henry looks like he’s about to say something, but then the community college kids walk in to take the next shift, and Stan bursts out of the back, trays of orange zest scones in hand.

“Ready to go, Syd?”

“Yeah,” Syd says, putting up her homework that will most likely never be finished, shooting a final knowing glance in Henry’s direction. “Let’s go.”

Here’s the good thing about the diner: it’s the perfect (and basically only) public hangout spot in town. It’s got arcade machines. It’s got shelves full of comic books. It’s got the best damn patty melt you’ll ever eat.

Here’s the bad thing about the diner: out of all the possible businesses in town Mom could have chosen to work at, she picked here.

  
This makes hanging there difficult. Still fun, but... _difficult._

“Here are your tots,” Mom says, putting the basket in the middle of the table. “Soooo, how was your daaaaay?”

Syd huffs. “It was fine, Mom.”

“Super,” Stan chirps around a mouthful of potato.

Mom just smiles.

“Uhhh,” Syd says. “Why are you still here?”

Mom rolls her eyes playfully. “Alright, I get it. I’ll let you two get back to your date.”

“It’s not - !” Syd starts, but she’s already gone. Syd groans, slides down in her seat.

Stan snorts. “How many times have you told her we’re not together now?”

Syd groans again. “Too many.”

Stan laughs. Syd flips him the bird.

“It’s funny,” Stan says in between giggles. “Because you’re a huge fucking lesbian, Syd.”

Syd stares at him incredulously. “Gee, really, Stanley? I had _no fucking clue._ ”

This only sends him into another fit of laughter. Syd glares at him.

A thought suddenly occurs to her.

“Hey, Stan,” she says, fighting back a grin, ‘cause his laughter is a bit infectious. “I was thinkin’.”

“Never a good sign.”

“Shut up. Anyway,” she continues. “You know Henry?”

Stan raises an eyebrow. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, I know Henry, Syd. You hit your head or something?”

“Haha, very funny, Barber.”

Stan smirks. “Well, what is it?”

Syd steels herself. Hopes Henry won’t kill her for this if things go wrong. “I think he likes you, dude.”

Stan sort of freezes. Stares at her. “Uhhhhh...are you _sure_ you didn’t hit your head, Sydney?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” she snaps. “I know what I’m talking about, man, he totally has a crush on you.”

Stan stares at the table. “How do you know?”

“I don’t know, I...I just get a vibe, ok? But like, even if he doesn’t like you, what would you think?”

“About what?”

“About Henry liking you, stupid.”

Stan swallows. “Oh. I don’t know. I guess - _Well -_ “

And then Stan blushes. Stan _actually blushes,_ and Syd wouldn’t believe it if she hadn’t already had the biggest surprise of her life earlier talking to Henry.

“ _Stan._ No way, are you serious?”

He blushes harder. “I mean, I don’t know! I guess I’ve never really thought of it? But now that you _mention_ it...”

“What do you mean you’ve never thought of it?” Syd exclaims. “You invited him to _dinner,_ for fuck’s sake. And don’t say you were ‘just being nice.’ It’s Henry, dude. There was like a 95% chance he was going to say no and you know it. But dude, he said he might stop by, he _totally_ likes you.”

Stan buries his face in his hands. “This is so much to process. Aah. Hnng. Ok.”

Syd laughs. “You totally like him back.”

Stan makes a sort of weak groaning noise.

“You’re gay.”

“No, you,” the pitiful retort comes.

“No,” Syd says, grinning. “Joe is.”

Stan sighs deeply and painfully. “Who’s Joe.”

“Joe mama.”

“I hate you so fucking much, Syd.”

“Whatever. Hey, where do you think Dina is? They should have been here by now.”

Stan lifts his head from off of the table. “I don’t know. I’ll text them.”

Twenty minutes later and still no reply. Stan is halfway through his second patty melt by now.

“I’m getting worried,” Syd says, craning her head to peer out the window. “Where are they? Football practice should have ended, like, forty minutes ago.”

“I don’t know,” Stan replies, frowning and checking his phone. “They haven’t texted me back.”

“Do you think we should go swing by the school?” Syd asks. “Maybe - “

But then Dina is bursting into the diner, looking windswept and harried and indescribably _pretty._

They slide in next to Syd, probably closer than strictly necessary for the size of the booth (not that Syd’s _complaining_ ). They grab a fistful of tater tots and lounge back in their seat, breathing heavily.

“Sorry, guys,” they huff. “Brad’s not coming.”

“What?” Syd asks. “Why not?”

“Well,” Dina pants, scanning the menu in front of them. “His practice ran a little late. And then at the end of it, he wanted to go out drinking with some of his friends, and I didn’t want to stop him, so he drove off with them and I walked here.”

“Wait, you _walked_ here?” Stan asks.

Dina shrugs. “Yeah, it’s no big deal. Started running towards the end, ‘cause I wasn’t sure if you guys had left or not.”

“We wouldn’t have left without you,” Syd tells them. “You could have called us. We would have come and gotten you.”

Dina sets their menu down. “Didn’t want to be a bother.”

Stan and Syd exchange a glance over the table.

“I can’t believe Brad just _left_ you,” Syd says.

“Yeah,” Stan says. “That son of a _bitch._ No offense, Dina.”

Dina shakes their head. “Oh, you know, Brad’s ok, he just didn’t really want to come to dinner tonight, I guess. It’s ok. It’s happened before, and it’ll happen again. And that’s fine.”

“You shouldn’t let him walk all over you like that, Dina,” Syd says.

Dina shrugs again. “It’s ok. I don’t mind.”

Syd seriously doubts the truth of that statement.

“Hey, Dina,” Mom says, stopping by the table with her arms stacked with dirty dishes. “Haven’t seen you in a while. How’ve ya been? What can I get ya?”

“I’m great, Ms. Novak,” Dina says politely. “And I’ll have a strawberry milkshake and the tempeh tacos, please.”

“Coming right up,” Mom says, whisking away their menu.

“So,” Dina says brightly once she’s gone. “What’s up with you guys?”

Stan shrugs. “Nothing much has really changed since this morning, to be honest.”

“Right,” Syd says teasingly. “Except I figured out that Stan _likes_ someone.”

Dina grins wickedly. “Oh, really? Who’s that?”

“A certain coworker of the two of you who will presently remain nameless,” Syd replies, even as Stan makes a pathetic noise and smacks his face back into his hands.

“Is it Anais?” Dina asks. “Sorry, Stan, I think she might be a bit too old for you.”

“No,” Stan moans. “It’s not her.”

Dina frowns. Syd observes as they think for a moment. And then realization hits them like a truck.

“ _No_ ,” they say in a hushed tone. “ _Henry?_ ”

Syd nods, grinning. “Yep.”

Dina laughs, but not unkindly. “Seriously? As in the one that just walked into the diner?”

“Wait _what.”_ Stan sits up, straight as an arrow, eyes wide.

Syd grins as Henry spots her and shuffles over to their table. “The very same.”

“Hey,” Henry says when he gets to the table.

“Hey, dude,” Syd replies. “Glad you could make it.”

“Hey, Henry!” Dina chirps, waving at him.

“Hi,” Stan says quietly. Henry just sort of nods at him, jaw clenched, hands stuffed in the pockets of his aviator jacket.

“Aren’t you gonna sit down?” Dina asks. Henry stares at them, hesitates, then sits next to Stan, keeping a tentative six inches or so between them.

“Hungry?” Stan asks, offering him the menu. Henry takes it, casts a nervous glance across the table at Syd.

Syd and Dina share a knowing smirk.

“Brad not coming?” Henry asks.

“No,” Dina says. “It didn’t work out.”

Syd expects him to snort, to scoff, to say _Of course._ Instead, he just nods, looks at Dina with something that could be pity.

_This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder._

The topic turns to drama at school, the others fill Henry in on all the gossip, and the mood gets a lot less awkward. Mom raises an eyebrow at Henry when she comes to take his order, but doesn’t say anything, thank _God._

“Smoke?” Stan asks after a while, and Syd has never been able to say no to that.

Later on the hood of Stan’s car parked around the block, the radio playing some random classic rock-esque station, smoke everywhere, Syd feels really, really _good._ No stress. No anxiety. Just a warm feeling that she always gets whenever she smokes.

The feeling only gets warmer when she looks at Dina.

“Ok, ok,” Dina says, laughing. “First kiss?”

Stan and Syd look at each other and groan.

“Seriously?” Dina laughs in disbelief. “You two?”

“Ugh,” Syd says, leaning back against the windshield. “It was like, _once._ And we try not to talk about it.”

“Wow,” Dina says. “Ok, well, mine was Brad, so I guess that worked out pretty well.” Syd swallows, and if she’s not mistaken, Henry stares down at his feet.

“Henry?” He looks up.

“Uhh.” He screws up his face in concentration. “Some girl during spin the bottle in seventh grade.”

“Wow,” Stan says, smirking. “ _Seventh grade._ How was it?”

Henry grimaces. “She tasted like cherry chapstick and egg salad.”

“Ugh, seriously?” Stan says, trying and failing to hide his laughter. “ _Nice one._ ”

“Shut it,” Henry says, shoving him, but he’s laughing, too.

“Ok, Syd, your turn,” Dina says, turning to her with a playful smile on their face. Syd has to take a second to process the question, gets stuck looking at that smile.

“Yeah, uh,” she says. “First time smoking?”

“I was like, fourteen,” Stan says.

“About a year ago,” says Syd.

“I honestly can’t even remember,” Henry muses. “Though maybe that’s the pot talking. Dina?”

Dina clears their throat. “Uhh, tonight...?”

“Wait, what?” Syd grins, surprised.

“Um. Yes?” They grin back sheepishly.

“I couldn’t even tell,” Stan says, eyes wide.

“I could,” Henry mutters around the joint in his mouth.

Dina rolls their eyes. “Of course _you_ could. Hand it over.”

They take a hit, cough just a little, pass it to Syd. “I’m a natural.”

Syd smiles. “You are.”

Dina smiles back. Their face is really close. _Too_ close. Dina smells like cinnamon. Syd can count each individual freckle on the bridge of their nose.

She can’t really breathe.

Dina leans back. “Oh my god, I _love_ this song,” they exclaim, jumping to their feet. “Come on, Syd, we’re dancing.”

It’s “Come On, Eileen.” Syd takes a quick hit (she’d completely forgotten she’d been holding the joint at all), passes it off to Stan, pushes herself to her feet.

Dina grabs her hands, sort of twirls her around. Syd’s never been a good dancer, but it probably doesn’t matter. She just lets Dina spin her around, jumping and twisting and singing along.

This is probably the happiest Syd has ever felt. The cool breeze of a Friday night, the weed in her head, the sounds of Stan and Henry exchanging small talk, the knowledge that she should go home soon so Mom won’t flip out, but not really giving a shit about it.

Most of all Dina. Dina and the way they’re _looking_ at Syd.

She might go crazy. But maybe that wouldn’t be so bad.

Syd doesn’t want the night to end, but eventually it does, ‘cause it has to. Mom is texting Syd, nagging at her to come home, and the joint has burned down to nothing anyway.

“Need a ride home, Dina?” Stan asks.

“I can take you,” Henry offers. “I live closer to you, anyway.”

Dina blinks. “Ok, sure.”

They cast a perplexed look behind Henry’s back at Syd. Syd just rolls her eyes playfully and throws her arms up into the air.

So even if Mom gets pissed when Syd comes home late, the day’s not a total bust in all. Not at all.

The next day is a bust. The next day is a _huge fucking bust._

It’s a Saturday, so Stan, Dina, and Henry only have to work a halfday, but when Syd walks into the shop, Dina is nowhere to be found. Stan and Henry are having a hushed conversation at the bar, neglecting their jobs (not like there’s many customers anyway). Syd would assume they’re flirting, but Stan looks anxious, and Henry is scowling darker than usual.

“Hey, guys,” Syd greets, sitting down next to them. “Where’s Dina?”

Stan and Henry look at each other.

Syd cocks her head, and turns to grab a snickerdoodle cookie from the tray on top of the display case. “Ok, what’d I miss?”

Stan clears his throat. “Uh...Dina’s not in today.”

Syd rolls her eyes. “Well, no shit, I got that, genius. Why not?”

They look at each other again. It’s getting annoying.

“Should I...?” Stan says to Henry. “Or do you want to...?”

“Oh my _god,_ ” Syd huffs. “Tell me what it is already or I will actually murder both of you.”

Henry sighs. “Brad cheated on Dina.”

Syd freezes, cookie halfway to her mouth.

“ _What?_ ”

“Yeah,” Stan says. “You know how he said he was going out drinking with some friends? He totally lied. Well, he didn’t _totally_ lie, but he - Henry saw...”

“I saw him on my way to the diner,” Henry explains. “He was in the parking lot of the 7/11 with some other fuckwads from the football team. They were drinking and being jackasses. At first I didn’t think it was him, ‘cause I thought he was coming with Dina to dinner, but...” He scowls. “It was him. And he had his hands all over Kimmy Fleck’s tits. I didn’t stop or anything, but he might’ve seen me. I don’t know.”

“Jesus,” Syd breathes, snickerdoodle reduced to crumbs in her hand. “So last night when you drove them home...?”

“I told them. I didn’t want them to be in the dark about it.” Henry’s jaw clenches. “No one deserves to be cheated on.”

“Dina hasn’t come in today,” Stan says, face lined with sympathy. “And I can’t really blame them.”

Syd finally unclenches her fist. Forces herself to breathe. “I’m going to _wring his motherfucking neck._ ”

Because cheating is shit in pretty much any scenario, yeah, and it doesn’t matter who’s doing it, but - Cheating on _Dina?_ Dina is the sweetest, nicest, most kind person to exist. _Ever._ Brad was dating Dina and cheated on them. He got to hold Dina’s hand, and hug them, and go on dates with them, and _kiss_ them, and it _still_ wasn’t enough for him. The _scum._

All Syd can see is red, and all she can feel is anger. And yet there’s a glimmer of something else inside her, deep in her chest, trying to get out, pestering her and worming its way into the front of her mind so as not to be ignored.

_If Dina and Brad break up, Dina would be single._

Syd feels _disgusted_ with herself for even _thinking_ like that.

“Has anyone talked to them at all?” Syd asks, but her voice sounds far away to her. Trance-like.

“I texted them,” Stan says. “But they didn’t want to talk about it, so I left it alone.”

Henry shakes his head. “You didn’t see them last night, Syd, after I told them. It was - They were pretty fucking upset.”

“Of course they were upset, Henry, they got fucking cheated on,” Syd snaps. Henry scowls.

“Syd,” Stan warns.

“Sorry,” she says, tone softening. “I’m just so fucking _pissed._ ”

“Trust me,” Henry says darkly. “So are we.”

And then the bell over the shop door rings, not a light and pleasant tinkle like normal, but a rough and forceful ring as if someone’s knocked the door off its hinges, and Brad _fucking_ Lewis walks in, face set with anger. He makes a beeline for the counter where they’re sitting, leaving a trail of confused coffee-drinkers in his wake.

“Hey, _Vasquez,_ ” he hisses, spinning Henry around in his stool. “You wanna fucking explain to me why my girlfriend broke up with me last night?”

Henry glares. “I think it’s probably because you’re a cheating, lowlife, worthless pile of hot garbage, but how about you tell me, _Brad?_ ’

Brad sneers. “You son of a _bitch._ You told them. You saw me and Kimmy yesterday and you decided to tell my fucking girlfriend, because you have nothing better to do than to stick your nose where it doesn’t _fucking belong._ ”

A couple of people seated at the nearby tables glance up at this. Henry raises a singular, heavily unimpressed eyebrow.

“What was he supposed to do, not say anything?” Stan interjects. He stands, but even at full height Brad’s got a good three inches on him. “That’s what friends do. They’re loyal and they tell someone when they’re being _used._ ”

“Newsflash, asshole,” Brad says. “Vasquez doesn’t _have_ any friends. And it wasn’t his damn business to tell Dina _shit._ Fuck your loyalty.”

“No, you know what?” Syd cuts in. “I have had _enough_ of you, Brad Lewis.”

Brad laughs, voice full of ridicule. “What the fuck have you got to say to me?”

“I think you’re a motherfucker,” Syd says defiantly, staring at Brad and channeling as much heat into her stare as she can muster. “I don’t think you’ve ever been good enough for Dina, and you never will be. You’re a piece of shit who only dates people in the interest of getting your dick wet, and as soon as you get bored of them, you drop them and move on to the next person. Dina is too nice for you, they’re too good for you, and they’re damn well too _pretty_ for you. Don’t fucking come in here complaining that they broke up with you. You deserve worse than that for doing that to Dina.”

Brad fumes. “What are you, _in love_ with my girlfriend or something?” He shakes his head, looks Syd up and down. “I should’ve known. Everyone always said Sydney Novak was a man-hating _dyke._ ”

Syd _snaps._

When she comes back to reality, Brad is on the ground with a bloody nose, Stan is holding her back, and the entire café is staring at them. Henry crouches down by Brad’s head, eyes full of hate.

“What the fuck,” Brad sputters, pushing himself to a seating position and staring at the blood on his fingers. “What the _fuck._ ”

“Get the fuck out of my coffee shop,” Henry says simply. Brad stands, nose still gushing blood.

“ _Fuckin’ bitch broke my fuckin’ nose,_ ” he seethes.

“ _Out,_ ” Henry hisses.

Brad gives them each one last look of rage, holding his hand to his nose, and turns to the door.

“Fuck you all,” he declares loudly. “Fuckin’ _freaks._ ”

He slams the door behind him.

“Well,” Stan says, as the café slowly reverts back to its usual level of talking and Henry’s aunt emerges from her back office to ask what the fuck is going on. “That was a shitshow.”

Time passes by. The days turn into weeks, two weeks to be exact. Two weeks since Dina broke up with Brad and Syd punched Brad in the nose.

Dina’s back at work now. They’re different now. They get upset a lot. They don’t like to talk for long. They hardly ever smile.

Syd misses their smile. It’s not even that she wants to see it (though that would be nice). It’s that she just wants to see Dina being _happy_ again.

The café group sort of becomes like a little family. They hang out more together after school, at the diner, at the park, at Stan’s house, wherever. Dina seems happier then. Not quite the same as before, but happier than they do at school or at work. They might not be happy for a while.

But that’s ok, Syd understands. Dina needs time.

Even when Stan and Henry officially start going out, they don’t flaunt it in front of Dina, because they don’t want to rub it in. And sometimes, if Dina’s really going through it, one of the others will just hug them and let them cry.

Brad doesn’t talk to any of them. Dina had said that he had tried a few times to get them back, but they had said no. He doesn’t come into the Grindhouse Bean anymore (which is good, because Syd would probably kill him if he did), and at school he shoves Stan into lockers and gives Syd endless amounts of shit, but there’s no helping that.

As long as he’s leaving Dina the _fuck_ alone, then it’s ok.

Syd’s there one afternoon, talking to Dina across the counter about biology homework, trying to keep Dina’s head occupied while they make customers coffee, trying to keep their head off of Brad. And Dina says something completely off-topic that Syd isn’t expecting:

“You know, if he had told me himself, I might’ve been able to forgive him.”

Syd frowns. Drops her pencil. “What? Why do you say that?”

Dina shrugs, biting their lip. “I don’t know. I guess if I had heard it from him instead of Henry I would have felt better about it. At least then he would have been being honest.”

Syd shakes her head. “Yeah, maybe if it was one time. Dina, he told you it had been going on for _months._ ”

Dina sighs. “I know. I still would rather have heard it from him, though.” They slam a bottle of chocolate sauce down on the counter harder than necessary. “But he’s a piece of shit. And I should never have put that much trust in him.”

“Dina, no,” Syd says, taking their hand. “Please don’t tell yourself this is your fault. It’s not, ok? You know that, right? You didn’t cheat. He did. It’s no one’s fault but his.”

“Ok,” they whisper, not meeting Syd’s eyes. Their fingers twitch against Syd’s. Syd is still trying to grasp the fact that she grabbed Dina’s hand at all.

Dina looks up. Their eyes look different. Their face is really, _really_ close to Syd’s. “Syd, I - “

Their gaze slides to a point behind her. They break off mid-sentence. Their expression shifts to something closed off and vacant.

“Excuse me,” they mutter, and practically run into the kitchen.

Syd frowns and looks behind her. She doesn’t have to look far to find the source of Dina’s sudden disappearance.

Kimmy Fleck has just walked into the café, hair pulled up into a peppy cheerleader ponytail, chattering away with a group of equally peppy-looking cheerleader friends.

Does she not _know_ that Dina works here? How can she not _know?_

No, there’s no way Kimmy doesn’t know. Sure, she hasn’t been in here in a while, but everyone’s been to the Grindhouse Bean at some point. It’s one of the only coffee shops in this stupid town.

“What the fuck is she doing here?” Syd hears Henry growl from behind her.

“I don’t know,” Syd answers. “But I think I might kill her.”

“Not if I do first,” Henry says, taking his place in front of the register. Kimmy’s friends go and sit at a table in the corner.

“Hi!” Kimmy says perkily. Way too perkily. “Can I get a chai latte, a blueberry iced tea, and a caprese panini?”

“Depends,” Henry drawls. “Can you stop stealing other people’s boyfriends?”

Kimmy blinks. Stares. And then she smirks. “Sticking up for Dina now, huh? Where are they anyway?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Henry answers. “But you shouldn’t see them, anyway.”

Kimmy studies her nails. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Wouldn’t want their eyeliner to run, what with all the tears. Poor baby.”

“Hey,” Syd interjects. “Fuck off.”

Kimmy arches a perfectly penciled eyebrow. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

“Maybe you should ask your boyfriend,” Syd growls. “Seeing as I broke his nose.”

“Oh.” Kimmy looks at Syd as if she’s something unpleasant she’s found on the underside of her pure white Adidas shoes. “You’re Sydney Novak.”

“Yeah, I am,” Syd says. “And I think you a have a lot of fucking _nerve_ showing up here after what you and Brad did to Dina.”

“Who gives a shit?” Kimmy says. “Guys cheat on their girlfriends all the time. I was just lucky enough to snag Brad. Not like he was hard to sway, seeing as his girlfriend was such a _drip._ ”

“Fleck,” Henry says before Syd can do anything. “Leave. Now.”

“Excuse me?”

“Take your stupid girlfriends, take your _shitty_ attitude, and go get your coffee somewhere else.”

Kimmy’s lip curls. “Fine, Vasquez. I will. In fact, I’ll never come back.”

  
“Good,” Henry responds. “No one’s gonna miss you.”

She collects her bewildered friends and leaves, with a single middle finger aimed in their direction.

“We’ve really been doing badly with customer service lately,” Stan’s voice sounds from the kitchen doorway.

Syd turns. “How’s Dina?”

“They’re ok,” Stan says. “Or, they will be. They’re in the pantry if you want to talk to them.”

Syd doesn’t even realize she’s moving until she’s already through the door.

She finds Dina on the floor of the pantry, looking at something on their phone.

“Hey,” Syd says, sitting next to them. It’s a tight fit. She’s stuck between Dina and a bag of flour on the bottom shelf.

“Hi,” Dina says, putting down their phone. They sound a little hoarse.

“Are you ok?”

“Oh, you know,” Dina says. They sniffle. “I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”

“Ok,” Syd says.

A comfortable silence descends over the pantry.

“I never thanked you before,” Dina says. “For standing up for me to Brad. It was really cool of you.”

Syd can feel her face burning. “Oh, it - it was no problem. I mean, Stan and Henry did it, too.”

“Yeah, but.” Dina moves so that they’re facing Syd, cross-legged. “You’ve always had my back.”

Syd’s throat feels dry. “What do you mean?”

“You’re just a _cool person,_ Syd. And I like you.”

Syd’s stomach flips. “Stan and Henry are cool,” she points out. Her voice is weak.

Dina shrugs. “They’re not you.”

Syd swallows, and Dina kisses her.

Once Syd’s brain is finished _completely short-circuiting,_ she finds it in her to kiss back. And _holy shit,_ kissing Dina is the best thing _ever._

When they break apart, Dina’s hand is somehow cupping Syd’s cheek, and Syd’s fingers are splayed on their shoulders.

“Wow,” Syd breathes.

“Wow,” Dina says, smiling. They’re _smiling._

“This isn’t.” Syd clears her throat. “This isn’t just like, a rebound thing, right?”

Dina shakes their head. “I wouldn’t do that to you, Syd.”

“So - So you actually want - you want - “

“To be your girlfriend?” Dina asks. “Yeah.”

“Oh, cool,” Syd hears herself say. “Cool.”

Dina giggles. “Can I kiss you again?”

“ _Please,_ ” Syd says, and they do.

**Author's Note:**

> that was covid-19 fic numero uno lads
> 
> remember to social distance ! :)


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